With a name like ‘widowbird,’ you’d expect this dusky male to have a low-key love life. But those 20-inch-long tail feathers are highly favored by females, even though they can make it difficult for the males to fly on windy days. The display has been the subject of much study regarding sexually selected traits and the tradeoffs between physical constraint and attracting a mate, since the tail feathers don’t seem to aid in flight and may even cause a hinderance. Ah, the things we do for love.
Longtailed widowbird at Rietvlei Nature Reserve, South Africa
Today in History
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Dalyan, Turkey
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Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria
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Sitka shines on Alaska Day
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A rock in a wild place
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The Easter Bunny’s story
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Death Valley National Park, California
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A plot was afoot
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A. M. Foster Bridge in Cabot, Vermont
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Blue linckia sea stars in Papua New Guinea
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It’s Siblings Day!
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It s Coffee Day
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World Turtle Day
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’Chess on ice’
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It s World Bee Day
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A sleeping green giant
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Reflections on Memorial Day
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Everglades National Park marks 90 years
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Leaves of Grass
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Hooray, hooray, it s Unicorn Day!
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The Hermitage of Santa Justa
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Grab onto the handlebars, kid
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A Welsh wonder turns 70
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The snows of Fuji
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New Year s Eve
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Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turns 103
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Dark skies over New Mexico
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Oktoberfest
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There’s treasure in them thar hills
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Kendwa village, Zanzibar, Tanzania
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Sailing across the ice